Dehydrogenation catalysts and the preparation of such catalysts are known in the art. Iron oxide based catalysts are customarily used in the dehydrogenation of dehydrogenatable hydrocarbons to yield, among other compounds, a corresponding dehydrogenated hydrocarbon. In this field of catalytic dehydrogenation of dehydrogenatable hydrocarbons to dehydrogenated hydrocarbons there are ongoing efforts to develop dehydrogenation catalysts that exhibit improved performance.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,191,065 describes a catalyst for the production of alkenylaromatics from alkylaromatics, wherein the catalyst is predominantly iron oxide, an alkali metal compound and less than about 300 ppm of a source for a noble metal, such as palladium, platinum, ruthenium, rhenium, osmium, rhodium or iridium. The amount of noble metal may be as much as 1000 ppm although the preferred amounts are lower. The patent teaches that when the noble metal is palladium, rhenium and rhodium, the amount is preferably less than 100 ppm, and most preferably less than 20 ppm. The catalyst may also comprise compounds based on cerium, molybdenum, tungsten and other such promoters.